Passes now on sale for Waterfront Film Festival

Wednesday

Passes are now on sale for the 10th Annual Waterfront Film Festival, which will be held June 12-15 in Saugatuck.

THE FILMS
• “The Flyboys,” an action film starring Stephen Baldwin in which two young boys discover a mysterious plane with a bomb in the luggage compartment and realize they have foiled a heist to steal millions of dollars from the mob.
• “Man on Wire,” a documentary that tells the amazing and amusing journey of tightrope walker Philippe Petit. In 1974, Petit shocked the world in what some consider the artistic crime of the century when he snuck to the top of the World Trade Center to perform a brazen high-wire act between the twin towers. This film was the Audience Award Winner and the Grand Jury Prize winner in the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.
• “Kabluey,” a comedy starring Lisa Kudrow as the mother of two rambunctious sons struggling to hold her family together while her husband is deployed in Iraq. She turns to her brother-in-law for help, who moonlights as a giant, blue corporate mascot.
• “Yonkers Joe,” a suspenseful and heartwarming tale starring Chazz Palminteri and Christine Lahti. A con artist who travels to Las Vegas with his girlfriend tries to pull off the scam of a lifetime when he is forced to take care of his mentally challenged son. What follows is a compelling story about a father and son who must learn to understand and accept each other for who they are.
• “Angels in the Dust,” a documentary from the producers of the Academy Award-winning film, “An Inconvenient Truth.” The film tells the story of an upper-class white family who abandons its privileged lives in Johannesburg to establish a school in South Africa that serves orphans overwhelmed by HIV/AIDS, rape, violence and social and political unrest.
• “Goliath,” a hilarious comedy about a recently divorced man stuck in a dead-end job who tries to find the one aspect of his failed marriage that still means something to him — his missing cat, Goliath. This film was an Official Selection of the Sundance Film Festival.
• “Doubletime,” a documentary that chronicles the story of two teams — suburban whites and inner-city blacks – preparing to compete in the international Double Dutch world championship in Harlem.
The four-day festival, which will screen more than 30 feature-length films and 25 shorts in five venues over the course of the weekend, also released an initial list of films that will be shown. A complete schedule, along with a list of industry professionals slated to attend WFF, will be available later this month.

“Without a doubt, this will be our best festival ever,” said Hopwood DePree, co-founder of WFF. “We screened a record number of films this year to arrive at our current lineup, which will have something to offer all moviegoers.

“Our 10th anniversary as a festival coincides with an especially exciting time for filmmakers in Michigan. The passage of the new film incentives has made Michigan the talk of Hollywood, giving our state and WFF even greater exposure on a national level. We look forward to welcoming a number of leading directors and actors to our June festival.”

Passes range in price from $70 to 75 for a day pass, which guarantees priority admission to all films and seminars for a single day, to $500 for a patron pass, which also offers entry to VIP mixers and includes a $200 tax-deductible contribution.
Additionally, filmgoers may also purchase a fast pass for $300 that gives priority admission to all films and seminars, as well as exclusive entry to Friday and Saturday VIP mixers. The $200 super pass option provides priority entry to all films and seminars for the festival.

Passes can be purchased online at www.waterfrontfilm.org and may be picked up at WFF headquarters at 347 Water St. in Saugatuck beginning May 25. Individual tickets will also be available during the event and will go on sale when the full schedule is announced later this month.

WFF is one of the largest all-volunteer festivals in the Midwest. Last year, more than 200 people volunteered to make the festival a success.

Sponsors for the 2008 festival include Kodak, National Endowment for the Arts, Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and SAGIndie. Media sponsors include FOX 17 in Grand Rapids and Star 105.7 FM.

For more information, visit www.waterfrontfilm.org.

Now in its 10th year, the Waterfront Film Festival celebrates independent film and filmmakers in a non-competitive environment. Located in Saugatuck, WFF is one of the leading destination film festivals in the Midwest, regularly hosting Midwest premieres of Academy Award-winning and nominated documentaries.

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